Film Info54 minutes
Bigger Bang Communications, PBS, National Geographic Channels International Available for Free events ONLY Synopsis: Professor Stephen Hawking reveals our true potential in a radical new science show which challenges a selection of volunteers and the viewer to think like the greatest geniuses of the past and answer some of humanity's toughest and most enduring questions. Using large scale experiments and incredible stunts we'll follow the volunteers' journeys as they get to grips with molecular biology, astrophysics and even quantum mechanics. And we'll learn about the Geniuses whose discoveries helped build our scientific knowledge and allowed us to solve questions like "Where are we?" "Are we alone?" and "Can we travel through time?" |
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Filmmaker Q & A
What inspired this story?
Genius was inspired by a simple “did you know?” question and demonstration. The producers, Ben Bowie and Iain Riddick sat around a table with the gang from PBS and Ben explained how you could demonstrate that the world was turning with a playground merry-go-round and a rubber ball. And it was that sort of a very practical demonstration of a very scientific concept that made everyone say “let’s answer the big questions of the universe in a very understandable and demonstrable way."
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film
Any time you’re trying to illustrate and talk about very difficult concepts, and concepts that seem counterintuitive, you have to be careful that you’re not losing your audience. This is doubly so when you’re dealing with the incredible mind and thought process of Stephen Hawking. Therefore, the challenge was always to make sure that everything we were saying, every concept, was explained in a way that we could bring the audience along and not have them say “no, I don’t get it.” So we held every moment in the film up to a “do I get it?” litmus test – and even in places where it was really difficult stuff, we still said to the audience - “we know this is difficult to comprehend – but stick with us, we’ll get you there."
How do you approach science storytelling?
At the end of the day, science story telling is still story telling. It’s got to be dramatic, it’s got to lead some place, and it’s got to have a beginning, middle and end that grabs people, keeps them in their seats and leaves them satisfied at the end. Science story telling can’t just be information.
What impact do you hope this film will have?
Too often, deep science and big ideas are too scary for people. They underestimate their abilities to understand complex scientific concepts. Genius aims to make people realize that the thoughts of some of the history’s most amazing minds are not beyond the rest of us – that with a little thought and a bunch of real-world examples, we all have the capability to understand and think the big thoughts.
Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share?
As someone who has overseen and created many science based programs, we tend to be jaded and think we’ve seen and heard it all – but at least twice over the course of working on Genius, I had genuine epiphany moments where I felt I finally understood some of the complexities of the universe. The first was when I realized that the universe didn’t begin in one place, because they universe began everyplace – because for a moment, everyplace was in one place. The second was when I realized that the law of conservation of matter prevented time travel into the past, and thoroughly dashed the dreams of owning a time-traveling Delorean.
Anything else you would like people to know?
As Stephen says – we all can be geniuses.
Genius was inspired by a simple “did you know?” question and demonstration. The producers, Ben Bowie and Iain Riddick sat around a table with the gang from PBS and Ben explained how you could demonstrate that the world was turning with a playground merry-go-round and a rubber ball. And it was that sort of a very practical demonstration of a very scientific concept that made everyone say “let’s answer the big questions of the universe in a very understandable and demonstrable way."
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film
Any time you’re trying to illustrate and talk about very difficult concepts, and concepts that seem counterintuitive, you have to be careful that you’re not losing your audience. This is doubly so when you’re dealing with the incredible mind and thought process of Stephen Hawking. Therefore, the challenge was always to make sure that everything we were saying, every concept, was explained in a way that we could bring the audience along and not have them say “no, I don’t get it.” So we held every moment in the film up to a “do I get it?” litmus test – and even in places where it was really difficult stuff, we still said to the audience - “we know this is difficult to comprehend – but stick with us, we’ll get you there."
How do you approach science storytelling?
At the end of the day, science story telling is still story telling. It’s got to be dramatic, it’s got to lead some place, and it’s got to have a beginning, middle and end that grabs people, keeps them in their seats and leaves them satisfied at the end. Science story telling can’t just be information.
What impact do you hope this film will have?
Too often, deep science and big ideas are too scary for people. They underestimate their abilities to understand complex scientific concepts. Genius aims to make people realize that the thoughts of some of the history’s most amazing minds are not beyond the rest of us – that with a little thought and a bunch of real-world examples, we all have the capability to understand and think the big thoughts.
Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share?
As someone who has overseen and created many science based programs, we tend to be jaded and think we’ve seen and heard it all – but at least twice over the course of working on Genius, I had genuine epiphany moments where I felt I finally understood some of the complexities of the universe. The first was when I realized that the universe didn’t begin in one place, because they universe began everyplace – because for a moment, everyplace was in one place. The second was when I realized that the law of conservation of matter prevented time travel into the past, and thoroughly dashed the dreams of owning a time-traveling Delorean.
Anything else you would like people to know?
As Stephen says – we all can be geniuses.
